Press release from Longines Global Champions Tour, edited by World of Showjumping

Liberty State Park, with the Hudson River glistening and the Manhattan skyline standing tall under a flawless September sun, provided the most dramatic of backdrops for stage 12 of the LGCT-season. In the end, it was Belgium’s Gilles Thomas who stood tallest, guiding his incredible nine-year-old mare Qalista DN (Emerald x Landetto) to a spectacular victory in the CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of New York – his second LGCT Grand Prix win of the season and the fourth podium finish of his 2025 campaign. 

Alongside Thomas on the podium was 23-year-old Thibault Philippaerts, making his Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix debut with Pittman v/h Lilleveld (Diamant de Semilly x Toulon). The young Belgian delivered a breakout performance to finish runner-up and, in doing so, earned a Golden Ticket to the prestigious Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix at the GC Prague Playoffs, handed down from Thomas, who had already secured his place earlier this season. Switzerland’s Nadja Peter Steiner and Nice van’t Zorgvliet (Emerald x Heartbreaker) completed a world-class podium, their clear round and swift time sealing third to the roar of the New York crowd.

Taking his fourth LGCT Grand Prix podium for the year, a beaming Gilles Thomas spoke to Rosie Turner of GCTV, saying: “It’s been an amazing season, and wearing this armband motivates me even more to perform in every LGCT Grand Prix!” As for the brand new event location? “A venue like this is just incredible, it looks like a postcard – a very big ring made it a very nice show to be at,” he added.

With this result, Thomas extended his overall LGCT ranking lead to 261 points, pulling further clear of Germany’s Christian Kukuk, who sits second on 187, and Denmark’s Andreas Schou, holding third on 173.